Longtime Magnum photographer Constantine Manos is a somewhat underrated artist whose vibrant color work portrays a kaleidoscopic cross-section of humanity. His most obvious counterpart is Martin Parr. Though a bit more sentimental and less acerbic, like Parr the sheer pulchritude of chromatic saturation in his images show the absurdity and surreal edge often found lurking beneath the spectacle of mass leisure. In the traditions of Frank, Winogrand, Friedlander, he reveals the disjointedness and quiet desperation at the heart of American culture.

WITH:
Portrait of a Symphony. Photographs by Constantine Manos. Foreword by Aaron Copeland. Basic Books, New York, n.d. [1961]. Clothbound in photo-illustrated dust jacket. Sheet-fed gravure reproductions.
Fine- with some fading to extremities; Near Fine- dust jacket; price clipped with a small chip at upper edge.

Manos' first book. At the age of 19, Manos was hired as the official photographer for the Boston Symphony at their summer home in Tanglewood, Massachusetts. This book--the culmination of that unique assignment--is unique in its up-close documentation of the life of a working orchestra. Manos went on to become an esteemed Magum photographer